


I been watching you awhile, maybe you been watching me too

by JuliaBaggins



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Background Clary Fray/Isabelle Lightwood, Fluff, M/M, Magnus Bane & Isabelle Lightwood Friendship, Psychological Studies, isabelle plays matchmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 09:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11377779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaBaggins/pseuds/JuliaBaggins
Summary: Magnus gets asked by his friend Isabelle if he could participate in a scientific study that her brother is working on, and Magnus may enjoy it for more than just the science...





	I been watching you awhile, maybe you been watching me too

**Author's Note:**

  * For [A_Book_Thief](https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Book_Thief/gifts).



> Congrats on brilliantly finishing your exams, my dear!
> 
> This story is based on a study that I participated in myself but I shortened some things here and also don't claim scientific accuracy ;)

“Oh this dress looks stunning on you.“

Isabelle flashed Magnus a smile while she sat down across from him.

“Thank you, Magnus. This one dude from my marketing class thought so too, only he didn’t say it quite as charming as you did.”

Magnus chuckled as he imagined that whoever that had been would have quickly regretted his words. Isabelle might not look the part, with her pretty face, red lipstick and matching dress, but she wasn’t someone you wanted to be angry at you. He still remembered his surprise when he had seen this beautiful girl from his design class in the gym a few weeks after they had started university; her makeup still on spot while kicking some guy’s ass. He couldn’t deny that he had been impressed. After that, they had quickly become friends, and now, two years later, they not only met for lunch every day but also spend a good part of their free time together. And so, Magnus asked what they should do the next afternoon as tomorrow, they both had classes only in the morning.

 

“I’m sorry but I fear that I haven’t got time tomorrow”, Isabelle said, and something about her smile while she said this caused Magnus to raise his eyebrows.

“Somehow I get the feeling that a certain someone might have a date..”

Isabelle’s smile kept getting bigger while she avoided looking into Magnus’ eyes and he saw his guess confirmed.

“Now, could this have _anything_ to do with a certain redheaded girl we met at the club last weekend?”

“Maybe”, Isabelle added a wink.

“I’m sure you’ll have a great time with her. Now I just wonder what I should do with all this unexpected free time alone”, Magnus added with a laugh.

“Well, actually, I have an idea about that.”

“You do?”

“Yes”, Isabelle confirmed, “You probably remember that I told you how my brother moved here too?”

Yes, Magnus did remember – he had met Isabelle’s brother two, maybe three times, and they never had had something that could count as a real conversation, but Magnus couldn’t deny that he would like to change that. 

So of course he always listened extra carefully each time Isabelle talked about Alec, and so he remembered how she explained that he had changed universities, moving away from their parents who somehow never had approved of him not studying law and taking psychology instead. Now, he lived in the same city as Magnus and Isabelle did, and though they had not seen each other in the few weeks since the semester had started, Magnus had been excited about these news.

 

“Magnus? You there with me?”, Isabelle asked with a laugh and Magnus nodded, quickly shaking the thoughts of her brother and these gorgeous eyes of his off.

“Yes, yes of course. What was it you wanted to say about your brother?”

A knowing smile flashed across Isabelle’s features before she started explaining.

“So, they are doing this study at the moment, I feel like he’s spending all his time in the laboratory, and I happen to know that he’s still looking for participants, so maybe you could help? Do something for science?”

Isabelle’s smirk caused Magnus to suspect that she knew very well that he’d do this not only for the progress of science, but none of them commented on it.

“I guess that’s not a bad idea.”

“Brilliant! I later text you the website where you can register, okay? Oh, and Magnus? There’s nothing to worry about there, you know?”

“You sure about that? No crazy psychologists messing with my head?”, Magnus asked with a laugh that only was half-genuine.

“No, no need for worries. I already did this myself and it’s nothing but walking through office rooms and sometimes feeling as if someone pinched you. If it wasn’t my brother doing it I might go as far as to say that over time the study got a bit boring.”

Magnus felt better at hearing that, and slowly, excitement at the perspective of finally spending some time with Isabelle’s brother and maybe getting to know each other a bit better started to kick in.

 

The website where he had registered for this study had told Magnus to be in the building’s foyer at 3, and so here he was. Not exactly nervous - except that he was, if he was being honest with himself. Of course, Izzy had told him that this would be totally harmless, but still, the thought of him being the guinea pig in a scientific experiment, it was weird. Nevertheless, he had signed up for this, and now, he told himself, the (very handsome) brother of one of his best friends depended on him. So he would do this.

Magnus just cast a glance towards his watch when he heard a voice and looked up towards the person that had spoken.

“Hey, you’re Magnus, right?”

“I am, and you’re Alexander?”, Magnus asked with a smile, ignoring the fact that he knew the answer to that very well, and suddenly nervous for a whole other reason.

“Please just follow me”, Alexander said with a smile, and Magnus did, through a huge glass door with a _“Silence Please”_ – sign in the middle.

 

Alexander led him through two more corridors before opening a door to their left. As soon as Magnus stepped inside, he noticed how much warmer it was inside the room, and it seemed as if he was not the only one to do so.

“Please excuse this heat – it’s the equipment; I’ll just open a window and hope that it gets better, okay?”

After he had opened the window and showed Magnus a chair to sit in, Alexander shrugged out of his leather jacket, revealing not only a dark blue t-shirt but also some tattoos on his arms, and Magnus caught himself thinking that he wanted to learn the story behind every one of them.

Alexander handed Magnus a paper where he had to answer a bunch of questions about his current feelings, and when one asked him to rate how nervous he was, his answer was not only influenced by the study. The way Alexander absently ran his hand through his hair while sitting behind a computer screen to Magnus’ right was hard to ignore.

When Magnus was finished with answering the questions, Alexander started to explain what they were going to measure during the experiment, what he would have to do and where he would put electrodes or something the like on Magnus.

Two of the electrodes were placed near to Magnus’ left eye, and when Alexander started to swipe the area with a soft cloth before applying them, Magnus’ eyes might have fluttered closed.

 

“Could you, could you maybe lift your shirt?”, Alexander asked and quickly caused Magnus to open his eyes again by doing so. 

“I need to put this electrode above one of your ribs”, he explained, and Magnus just nodded.

Magnus lifted his shirt, swallowing, and felt Alec’s fingers on his skin, gently moving from one rib to the next until he had found the right spot to put his electrode. And the open window really had to work, because Magnus felt goosebumps taking over his skin.

 

“Next, we’ll settle your personal pain threshold.”

Alexander applied what looked like a harmless little black box to his right arm and Magnus eyed it suspiciously.

“We’re looking for a seven on that scale – you should feel it, also that it’s more a pain than a sensation, but it shouldn’t really _hurt_ too much, okay?”

He showed Magnus the scale, they found the seven that Alexander had been looking for and after he had placed a little device to stimulate one of his nerves inside Magnus’ ear (how Alexander’s fingers had gently removed Magnus’ earrings before had been fine, totally fine) and put headphones on top of his head, the experiment started.

For the next three hours, Magnus looked through some high tech glasses, walking through office rooms in a virtual reality and sometimes receiving what really felt as if someone had pinched his arm. Except for changes in the lightning, not too much happened in these office rooms, and Isabelle had been right, it was not too thrilling over time.

 

When the time was up, the office room vanished from the big screen Magnus was sitting in front of and the lights were turned back on. Magnus blinked against the sudden brightness when he felt how his headphones were taken off, glasses following shortly after. Alexander’s smiling face appeared in his vision, and made the whole experiment worth it.

“You okay?”, he asked, and Magnus nodded, smiling himself.

“There’s just one more sheet with questions to answer and then you’ll be released, promise.”

Magnus answered the questions, rating his nervousness high again as he remembered Alexander’s fingers on his chest when he just had removed the electrodes. 

As soon as he was done, Magnus stood up and walked to Alexander’s desk, putting the paper down there. Alexander looked up at him, his hands fidgeting with what seemed to be a note. With a little shake of his head, he stood up and extended his hand.

“Thanks for participating in our experiment, Magnus.”

Magnus shook his hand.

“It has been a pleasure.”

Alexander smiled at that, a sight that Magnus would love to get used to, and handed him the paper he had held in his left hand. 

“Here, well, just in case you’ve got any further questions about our experiment.”

The paper had Alexander’s phone number written on it, and Magnus looked deep into his eyes, a smirk playing around his lips and still holding Alexander’s hand.

“Oh, I’m sure I’ll have a lot of further questions. Maybe I’ll even develop a liking for psychological studies?”

Alexander chuckled, a strand of his dark hair falling into his face, and Magnus decided to just give it a chance.

“Actually, I’d already have a question now.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Yes. What would a psychologist’s advice be if I, let’s say, wanted to ask someone out?”

“Well, I’m not really a psychologist _yet_ , but I’d say that if they are interested as well, something simple might already work, like asking if they would like to grab something to eat with you.”

“Alright, so I’m asking very simply: would you like to grab something to eat with me, Alexander? As a date?”

The bright smile that spread over Alexander’s features was all the answer that Magnus needed, and when they walked out of the lab, they might have been holding each other’s hands…

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the masterpiece that is Bruce Springsteen's song "Tougher Than The Rest"
> 
> If you enjoyed reading this it would be lovely if you could leave a nice comment! ❤


End file.
